Frazier, Lynn Joseph

Frazier, Lynn Joseph

(1874–1947) governor, U.S. senator; born in Steele County, Minn. A successful North Dakota farmer, he was endorsed by the Nonpartisan League and became the Republican governor of North Dakota (1917–21), establishing a state run bank and grain processing system. Recalled in 1921 by opponents of the bank and his increasingly progressive policies, he went to the U.S. Senate (1923–41), where he sponsored the Frazier-Lemke Amendment (1934), which postponed farm mortgage payments for three years. His opposition to U.S. involvement in World War II ended his political career.

The Cambridge Dictionary of American Biography, by John S. Bowman. Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1995. Reproduced with permission.